Tips for mounting a scope.

[islandchanel]

Hello,

Just ordered my scope and rings and was wondering what do most people use to mount the scope properly. Any tips and advice on equipment needed would be appreciated.

[NorCalFocus]

Well...

1. I use a gun vise, or another way to secure the rifle.
2. I then torque the base to the action using the recommended specs provided by the manufacturer of the base.
3. I then use a scope leveling kit to level the action or scope base.
4. I place the bottom half of the scope rings on the base, place the scope in the rings and eye ball it into good spacing.
5. Then I'll add the top half of the rings, and tighten them down so they don't fall off, but the scope can still move.
6. I then get behind the rifle with my eye's closed, then opne them to see if the scope is set to my eye relief.
7. After that, I level to scope to the action/base level and torque the scope rings down to the manufacture's specs.

I'm sure I'm glossing over something, but thats the basic procedure to do it. A torque wrench and scope levels will run you about $50-$60. You can also just pay a gunsmith to mount it for about the same.

[islandchanel]

Thanks for the tips

[boltstop]

To find the ideal ring height, gently clamp rifle in a level vice, stack quarters on the rail and balance the scope on them until the bell clears the barrel and you are happy with the cheek weld.

[Unforgiven]

Locktite.

[Divernhunter]

good rings and NO locktite.
Lap the rings for best fit.

[RAMCLAP]

If it's two separate rings they really need to be lapped.

[CamW]

Here's a video that someone posted from another thread.It may not be the same type of rings you have but it's an excellent video.

[Surf.n.Turf]

Here's a few things I've picked up mounting and zeroing my scopes:

1. SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY - make sure rifle is unloaded, mag clear, and ammo is in a totally different room than you so no accidents happen.
2. Adjust scope placement as far forward as comfortable with good cheek weld to allow max eye relief
3. Blue locktite - some use it, some don't. I have some hardware I've found that expands and loosens, so I use it. DO NOT get the red locktite ("permanent" rating)
4. Cross-tighten your rings and mounts, doing a little at a time. Think of like drawing a star. Upper-left, bottom-right, bottom-left, upper-right. STOP if you feel resistance in any before all are snug
5. Continue cross-tighten after feeling all are snug, 1/4 turn at a time. Hand tighten until very firm.
6. Boresight your rifle after scope is mounted, BEFORE firing a single shot. You don't need a laser or anything fancy. Remove your rifle's bolt, and mount rifle on anything stable, pointing to something 10-25 yards away. I put it on my kitchen table on shooting bags. Look down thru barrel, aim muzzle at something recognizable with naked eye, take note of whatever is in center of barrel. Now tough part - without moving rifle at all, look thru scope. Adjust scope to aim on point of thru-barrel boresight. Repeat until the 2 sight pictures have the same center aim point. Save ammo, save time.
7. Test boresight at range as close as possible. Start at 25, then 50, then 100 if possible. Adjust zero at each distance.
8. If noticeably off aim at any time, STOP and assess the situation. Is the boresight vs scope center aim off? Are all screws tightened down equally? Is it shooter error from flinching or not a secure rest?
9. When adjusting aim point, tap scope lightly before shooting next round to help stabilize adjustment. The adjustment springs may take 1-2 shots before they settle into their new stable position.

Good luck!